Sunday, October 14, 2012

Bus Trip To Kyoto

Today we took a bus trip to Kyoto!  It was the annual neighborhood association excursion, meaning a bunch of people whom we don't know in spite of living just up the street from them. 
A group of 45 or so crammed onto a tour bus and jammed on down to the big town.  First port of call was the brand new Kyoto Aquarium.  I was initially excited about going, until I realized that Kyoto + Sunday + major attraction = really awful crowds. Unfortunately, I didn't hit upon this till we were standing in line with the hundreds of other folks waiting to stuff themselves into a glorified fish tank. 
The next stop was better, because you could see the sky, and there was lunch and beer.  A stroll through the historic shopping annex cleared my head and wore Samantha out.  K was happy to have the two of us out of her hair, and she was happy to stroll as I lugged a sleeping Samantha back to the bus.
Getting out of Kyoto proved more difficult than getting in, but we finally got on the road, got our bathroom break, and got home.
Never again.

Got some nice pictures, tho.






Thursday, October 11, 2012

Tsu Matsuri, the Japanese answer to the county fair

This past weekend was the town festival, a two day affair involving dancing, beer, and foods to put the local fair to shame.  K hadn't been in 20 years, Kunio also.  Samantha and I were old pros, and we took along K's brother and his family as well.